The Moose isn't playing. Good luck in beautiful Bucks Franck.
Harding isn't playing. Thank you Mr. Kettle.
Stockport was the hardest test in our recent little run and the fact was they were gaining more possession in the second half even before Dan's unfortunate dismissal. The next three games without him could be fun.
With away games to Scunthorpe and Bristol Rovers amongst that sequence three points against a struggling Swindon are vital. Tilly sees no reason to mess the side about too much, not that we have that much choice at the back!
Sankofa will start, (I hope at left back, Tilly's re-jig quote worries me a touch), and Shrimpers will study carefully how he looks for tougher tests to come, though Swindon have only lost once on the road.
If Dougie is fit wonderful, but I expect Revell to get another chance. Personally I'd give Walker a go, even Laurent got some rave reviews after the reserve game in Suffolk on Tuesday. (Though there is a rumour Revell has been injured in training so we may see another change after all.)
Speaking to Blues World Tilly said: "At the moment we are in amongst it which is credit to the lads and we are going in the right direction. The match will be a bit like Stockport in as much as Swindon are strong away from home. At the County Ground they seem to be under pressure but play with more freedom on the road so we have got to expect a tough game."
Tilly is giving Sankofa the opportunity to make his mark over the next three games until Harding's probable return against Leeds: "It is up to those players when they get the chance to take it. With Dan out we need to re-jig it in someway but as long as Osei is fit and healthy he will start. In my opinion systems don't win games players do and we have to concentrate on what we do and if we do that we don't have a problem. If you change the way you play to suit a side then you are weakening your hand in my opinion."
OPPOSITION
They thought it was all over but events at the County Ground seem as grim as ever with the prospect of falling into the bottom four at the weekend. Ohh, but look whose below them.
19 | Swindon Town | 10 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 20 | 9 | -6 | ||||
20 | Leyton Orient | 10 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 17 | 9 | -9 | ||||
21 | Colchester United | 10 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 14 | 21 | 8 | -7 | ||||
22 | Yeovil Town | 9 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 17 | 7 | -8 |
Manager Maurice Malpas took the unusual step of making every fit player available for reserve team duty on Tuesday night as he bids to eradicate the woeful home form which have seen them fail to pick up a single County Ground point since the opening day of the season. Malpas believes there may be a serious lack of confidence throughout his squad but warned that if the performances do not improve, he will approach chairman Andrew Fitton about bringing in some loan signings.
Speaking to the Swindon Evening Advertiser and the official site Malpas said: "How can I say I'm happy with the performances of the players and the results when we haven't won at home for four games?" he asked. "I can't sit here and say I'm happy and the players are playing great. I've got a great belief in what we're doing's correct, I've got a great belief in the squad, but sometimes I think my belief is far greater than theirs. I think our desires are slightly different and it's a case that we have to pull together and get through it. That will be the next stage. If I don't get a reaction from them after this or over the next three or four games then it will be time to go to the chairman and say I need to get other players in."
The Scot denied his players are lacking in effort and admitted that a couple of good performances and results could soon see the doom and gloom forgotten.
He continued: "I don't think any of our players are not trying and I don't think they're not desperate to do well - they're just in their shells a little bit. It's my job to get them out of their shell and perform in a manner that gets us results. It doesn't have to be pretty, but we need to get in that mental state and we need to get that determination that it doesn't matter what happens on or off the pitch, we'll get through it. A week is a long time in football - two, three games and it's amazing what can happen with one victory. And it's something we have to overcome."
Malpas has confirmed Captain Hansey Aljofree will return to the side for the trip to South Essex. Aljofree had missed the past two league games through illness but will make a comeback against the Blues. "Hansey has experience and it would not be a surprise to see him on the teamsheet. Patrick Kanyuka is also available whilst we have Sean Morrison and Jarel Ifil competing for central defensive places."
The Swindon boss then returned to his siege mentality theme: "I have picked the team to stand up and be counted. We have had a good run of results away from home and we have to continue that. Nothing comes easily to people - the key for this team will be hard, hard work. The number of points we have been getting has not been good enough for the Club. The points total we would have had wasn't thirty but it was a lot greater than nine. We will set ourselves targets now and we have to start hitting them because otherwise there will be even greater pressure." 2-0 Blues!
PREVIOUSLY
Played 107: Won 38 Drawn 24 Lost 45.
Some cracking games with the Robins over a long history that started in 1920.
Hat-tricks galore for United players at Roots Hall starting on Oct. 18 1930 with Jones along with Barnett and Shankly in a 5-3 win. Three years later on Oct. 21 1933 and it was McMahon who with a Lane penalty was the main man in a 4-1 victory. Along came the fifties and young Tippett of the Hall grabbed three in an amazing 8-2 win on Feb. 17 1951 being joined by a couple each for Davies and Grant and one for Lawler.
That ended the hat-tricks but the sixties brought a Firmani double on Sep. 24 1965; Gilfillan and a Nurse OG added the goals in a 4-2 result. (Read about a famous sixties cup win at www.thelittlegazette.com/news/loadsngl.asp?cid=EDY3&id=411891)
Fri. Mar. 16 1979 might bring back memories, a terrific eight goal thriller, Blues coming on top 5-3; Polycarpou (2), Stead, Laverick and a Morris penalty the scorers.
Roots Hall witnessed another thriller on Boxing Day 1984, only five goals this time, 3-2 to Southend, a Phillips penalty followed by Pennyfather and Whymark.
Nothing like that since but we are on our 6th succesive win against the team from Wiltshire after a LDV win and two consecutive league doubles. Barrett and Gower getting the goals in the 2-1 win here on Dec. 8 07, while Francis smashed home a great winner at their place on Mar. 24 earlier this year during that unbeaten run to the play-offs.
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REF
The man in the middle is Gavin Ward from Sittingbourne.
This is his third visit to Roots Hall, we lost on penalties to Dag & Red in the JPT first time around but beat Hartlepool 2-1 in the second.
FIXTURES (All 15.00 kick-off)
Brighton v Hereford, Carlisle v Peterborough, Cheltenham v Scunthorpe, Crewe v Milton Keynes Dons, Huddersfield v Bristol Rovers, Leyton Orient v Tranmere, Millwall v Leeds, Northampton v Yeovil, Oldham v Leicester, Stockport v Colchester, Walsall v Hartlepool.
BET
Southend (4/5) Draw (13/5) Swindon (9/2)
Bet of the Day: Yeovil 4/1 at Northampton, well they outplayed us for long periods and the Cobblers have been held, (oh grow up), three times out of five matches at home.
Blues now best of 11/2 for promotion after being 8's less than a month ago.
HISTORY
Swindon Town Football Club was founded by Reverend William Pitt of Liddington in 1879. The team turned professional in 1894 and joined the Southern League which was founded in the same year.
Swindon reached the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in the 1909-10 season, losing to eventual winners Newcastle United. Barnsley F.C. and Swindon were invited to compete for the Dubonnet Cup in 1910 at the Parc des Princes Stadium in Paris. The result was a 2-1 victory for Swindon with Harold Fleming scoring both of the club's goals.
The following season, 1910-11, Swindon Town won the Southern League championship, earning them a Charity Shield match with the Football League champions Manchester United. This, the highest-scoring Charity Shield game to date, was played on 25 September 1911 at Stamford Bridge with Manchester United winning 8-4. Some of the proceeds of this game were later donated to the survivors of the Titanic.
Swindon entered the Football League in 1920 as a founding member of Division Three and defeated Luton Town F.C. 9-1 in their first game of the season. This result stands as a record for the club in League matches.
In 1969 Swindon beat Arsenal 3-1 to win the League Cup for the first and only time in the club's history. As winners of the League Cup, Swindon were assured of a place in their first European competition: the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. However, the Football Association had previously agreed to inclusion criteria with the organizers which mandated that only League Cup winners from Division One would be able to take part. As the team were not eligible, the short lived Anglo-Italian competitions were created to give teams from lower divisions experience in Europe. The first of these, the 1969 Anglo-Italian League Cup, was contested over two legs against Coppa Italia winners A.S. Roma. Swindon won 5-2, with the scorer of two goals in the League Cup final - Don Rogers - scoring once and new acquisition Arthur Horsfield acquiring his first hat-trick for the club. The team then went on to win the 1970 Anglo-Italian Cup competition in a tournament beset by hooliganism. The final against S.S.C. Napoli was abandoned after 79 minutes following pitch invasions and a missile barrage, with teargas being employed to allow the teams to return to the dressing room.
Following management changes, Swindon had a long unsuccessful period culminating in them being relegated in 1982 to the Fourth Division, the lowest professional Football League at the time. They were eventually promoted as champions in 1986 with the club achieving a Football League record of 102 points, the second club to score over 100 points in a season, York City having totalled 101 two years earlier. A year later they won the Second Division play-offs to achieve a second successive promotion.
Promotion campaign Manager Lou Macari left in 1989 to take charge of West Ham United with veteran midfielder, and former Argentine international, Ossie Ardiles replacing him. In his first season Swindon were Second Division play-off winners, but the club later admitted 36 charges of breaching league rules, 35 due to illegal payments made to players, and were relegated to the Third Division — giving Sunderland promotion to the First Division and Tranmere Rovers to the Second Division. The scandal saw then chairman Brian Hillier being given a six-month prison sentence and chief accountant Vince Farrar being put on probation. A later appeal saw Swindon Town being allowed to stay in the Second Division.
Swindon progressed well during the 1991-92 season, Glenn Hoddle's first full season as manager, and just missed out on the Second Division play-offs. A year later they beat Leicester City 4-3 in the new Football League Division One play-off final to achieve promotion to the Premiership — bringing top-division football to the club for the first time. The club are one of the few domestic football teams never to have lost a game at Wembley Stadium.
Hoddle moved to Chelsea during the summer of 1993 and was replaced by assistant John Gorman, but Swindon never adjusted to the pace of Premiership football. They were relegated after recording only five wins and conceding 100 goals — the latter record has yet to be broken. The following year, Swindon were relegated for the second successive time and slipped into Division Two.
New manager Steve McMahon succeeded in getting Swindon back into
Division One on his first attempt, as they won the Division Two championship in 1996. McMahon remained as manager until September 1998, when he left by mutual consent after Swindon had lost 5 of the 9 opening games of the 1998-99 season. The club has then had eight managers in nearly eight years (Andy King was appointed twice), during which time they were relegated back into Division Two. They fully finished 5th in the 2003-04 season but failed in the promotion play-off stage and stayed in the same league, now renamed League One.
Caretaker manager Iffy Onuora was unable to save Swindon from relegation to League Two in 2006. Their relegation meant that they became the first ever former Premiership team to be demoted to the lowest Football League division.
Dennis Wise agreed to become the new Swindon Town manager in May 2006 following the relegation, with Gustavo Poyet joining the coaching staff. The pair left in October when it was announced that they had agreed to move to Leeds United. Adrian Williams and Barry Hunter took temporary charge until Paul Sturrock was appointed on 7 November. Sturrock guided Swindon to promotion to League One in his first season with the club, earning the third automatic promotion place in a 1-1 draw with Walsall in the last game of the 2006-07 season.
The club has been beset by financial difficulties throughout its history, having been placed into administration twice and also twice fought off winding-up orders from Her Majesty's Customs and Excise over unpaid tax-bills. The board currently have to make yearly payments of £100,000 to creditors (2% of the yearly turnover), and only managed to begin the 2006-07 season after sourcing £500,000 to pay for players' wages. The club is campaigning for the redevelopment of the County Ground to help finance the team and a takeover bid by a Fans' Consortium was launched in December 2005.
In 2008 Swindon Town was taken over by a consortium fronted by local businessman Andrew Fitton along with Jeremy Wray who appointed Maurice Malpas as the new manager after Sturrock returned to Plymouth. The consortium are in the process of clearing all debts which the Wiltshire faithful hope will enable the club to punch once again above its weight.
(Thanks to the usual suspects for their help with this article.)